WPA Consultant-Evaluator Service for Writing Programs

The WPA Consultant-Evaluator service offers colleges and universities the opportunity to improve and assess their writing programs. Employing a method similar to regional accreditation agencies, WPA C-E evaluations occur over several stages. Once a date is confirmed, the WPA C-E Director requests that a campus to prepare a written self-study and arranges for a team of two trained consultant-evaluators to participate in a two-day campus visit that eventuates in a co-authored written report. A six-month follow-up report from the campus completes the process.

WPA Consultant-Evaluators are leaders in the field of writing studies and hold positions at a wide range of types of two- and four-year colleges and universities. All are experienced administrators with a national perspective on teaching and learning writing and writing program administration. Their mission is to determine a program's unique strengths and weaknesses, help resolve problems within the local institutional context, and improve programmatic effectiveness. The "Ethics Guidelines for CWPA Consultant-Evaluators" document articulates the practices that have characterized the work of WPA Consultant-Evaluator Service members since the Service began.

To make use of the service, institutions pay $4000 to cover honoraria for the two consultant-evaluators ($2000 each), a $250 administrative fee, plus travel and lodging for the two consultants.

 NOTE: Our expectation is that all C-E visits will take place on-site and in-person.  Under some circumstances, however, a virtual visit may be possible.  Please contact the director to discuss the possibility if you believe there are reasons why this modality would better suit your institutional context. After a brief hiatus, The Consultant-Evaluator Service has resumed scheduling visits while we continue to review and revise our policies, practices, guidelines, and other documents and processes to reflect our commitment to inclusion and anti-racist pedagogies. We will also participate in the CWPA DEI audit, which will give us some guidance as we make those revisions. Please contact the Directors if you have any questions or are interested in scheduling a visit.

Applications for the C-E service should be initiated three months prior to a planned visit. For more information, WPAs, department chairs, or college administrators should contact:

Professor Michael A. Pemberton, Co-Director of the CWPA Consultant-Evaluator Service

Laura Brady's essay: A Case for Writing Program Evaluation WPA 28.1-2 Fall 2004

Slide presentation describing the C-E Service procedures

Updated Self Study Guidelines

Guidelines and Policies for Virtual WPA Visits

 Consultant Evaluator Roster 2022

Ethics Guidelines for CWPA Consultant-Evaluators